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LONDON, June 7 — Nearly 30 years after topping the charts as a 21-year-old with hit single Never Gonna Give You Up, British singer Rick Astley is back with his first new studio album in more than a decade.

In a nod to his advancing age, the album is titled 50 and leads with the comeback single Keep Singing.

“When I was a kid, being 50 was pipe and slippers time, it’s kind of like you’re done, you’re going to be retiring... And I think that’s completely different now,” Astley told Reuters.

“It’s something to be celebrated or at least to be acknowledged ... Also I thought it would be funny ‘cause Adele has called her albums 19, 21 and 25 so I thought... I’ll take 50.”

Astley, who has sold more than 40 million records, said in 1993 that he was retiring from the industry, aged 27. However he released music in the 2000s, including the album Portrait in 2005, and said he was persuaded by fans’ comments on social media to put out his latest album. — Reuters

Astley is also the subject of a popular meme called ‘Rickrollin’. — Reuters pic